How dumb is this

[clayp]

This will show just how stupid Iam...What does this radar show? Is it a ship or a plane?What is the spike reading?....

[WitoldGritz]

must be ship,
as far a i know its screenshot of surface Radar,
SD air search radar has no monitor and is automatic.

[Arclight]

I think it shows the strength of the return signal received by the radar-set (height of spike), and gives a rough range read-out (position along scale). : hmmm:

Just a guess, but that's how I would interpret it.

I think most don't know, so not a stupid question at all.

[Bubblehead1980]

Clay, that is the A-Scope radar display for the original SJ surface search radar, this is what they had until late 43 and into 44 when the PPI(Planned Position Indicator) scope(to the right of the A scope in the game) was introduced as part of the improved SJ radar, which was much more useful since it gave a tactical picture by displaying contacts in relation to the sub.Target range, bearing, direction of travel and even size(larger ships gave larger returns on the PPI scope) could be determined.The real PPI scopes were so good, subs were able to shoot only on radar information if needed and score hits.Unfortunately the radar is not that good in the game.

The A scope basically let you know there was something out there and gave the range.

The dancing green line means a contact...the 150 means 15,000 yards, the 30 means 30,000 yards and so on.

if you look up above the A scope, there is a dial the rotates when you have the radar in "sweep" mode, this gives the bearing of the contact.Are you playing the "stock " game? Can't remember if you can look up at it or not, in mods like TMO you can.


In the game you have both radar scopes from the start which is historically inaccurate, shortcut on part of the devs.Some boats kept the A scope in addition to the PPI scope, because it was good for range finding.SJ radar CAN detect aircraft if they are flying low enough but its rare.

SD radar detects planes, unfortunately there is no working SD scope in the game, although in all subs except the S-Class and Porpoise, a "for lookgs only" unit is in the control room on the forward bulkhead.SD contacts are displayed on the nav map if you have map contacts turned on.Problem is, their speed, direction, bearing and range can be ascertained, unlike the primitive SD radar, which was no directional.Basically, the SD just let you know there was a plane there and it's range, no bearing or direction.In late war, SV radar came into service, this was an air search radar that gave range, bearing and direction.



Hope this helps.

[Buddahaid]

That is a huge surface contact at about 25,000 yards. I can't tell you the bearing as that A-scope is directional. You would need to see what bearing the PPI scope is sweeping past.

Buddahaid

EDIT:
Here's the links to SH4 and radar type/use.

The SD air search radar is an AI function only and that is where your crew announcement came from. The SJ surface search set is both of the scopes you can man, and only becomes functional as the war progresses, and your sub actually has it installed. Yes, that is a bit confusing and to top it off, the buttons are/were mislabeled. The SJ A-scope is the green one with the horizontal grass line. It's used for range finding and has to be directed at the target to see the pips. The PPI (plan position indicator) is the red one with the sweeping clock like hand. This is a newer scope added to the sets and gives you a map, or plan view, showing bearing and range.

So, when the crewman says he has a radar contact, it's likely an aircraft. Look on your map view for a very fast contact and dive to evade.


This one describes the types in general with specs.
http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/radar-1.htm

This one shows more theory and indicates the SJ A-scope was for accurate range finding.
http://www.smecc.org/mcmahon's_radars!.htm


http://www.usscobia.com/

The Cobia link has photo's of the actual set, but I don't see any graticules other than bearing ones on the PPI.


Buddahaid

[Armistead]

I know in TMO the SV picks up both air and surface contacts. Not sure if they can pick up the transmission. If you're at scope depth, you can raise it and it picks up ships also...Since it picks up surface targets, just wonder if it gives you away. I like having my air radar up when dived until I get close to attack, but it sometimes seems they home in on the SV, cause dd's come chasing...when it was just air radar, they didn't. Wish there was away to contol it.

[clayp]

Thanks guys!!!!!!!! You are all great..

[vanjast]

Arclight gives you the tech gen, and the rest say correctly that it's at about 25K.

[Cheeze]

are you sure its in yards?
I see m x 100, so it could be meters or miles
I'm confused here since it's a american sub with no useage of the metric system at all, but miles on the other hand is also not possible, because of the rather large range in this case..
Anyone has a theory about this?

[Arclight]

Maybe the "M" stands for "measured", as in "the measured range in yards along the scale needs to be multiplied by 100".

Or perhaps the devs made a mistake. Both the Imperial and Metric system are selectable in the options menu, and I'm pretty sure they use the Metric system in Romania.

[fw66]

It looks like the screen of the German radar has been used, which would explain why its in meters.

Have a look at the radar from u-boat missions in this video (at ~ 1:28) for example:



- not my vid